The Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats bring their balancing acts and martial arts skills to the Ulster Performing Arts Center for two shows, at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats bring their balancing acts and martial arts skills to the Ulster Performing Arts Center for two shows, at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday.

Becoming an accomplished acrobat in this company awards you a special status in China, equivalent to that of an American opera star. Children begin training young by watching their parents, and formal lessons begin when the child is 5 or 6. The Hai family from China has been leading the company for almost 30 years and has performed throughout South America, in Israel, New Zealand and numerous other countries.

UPAC is at 601 Broadway, Kingston. Tickets are $25 and $20. Call 339-6088.

Sandy Tomcho

Playwright and director Neil LaBute has a unique take on the male-female relationship. Mainly, it's bitter. That tone has been prevalent in several of his plays and films, such as "In the Company of Men," "Your Friends and Neighbors" and "The Shape of Things."

With "Some Girl(s)," presented by Performing Arts of Woodstock, LaBute maintains the status quo as he tells the story of a man who has traveled the country dating several different women. Of course, it has that distinctly crass and biting edge that is completely LaBute.

"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is a mystery unto itself. The novel was left unfinished at the time of Charles Dickens' death and fans regularly theorize how the great author would have finished it.

Rupert Holmes figured that out. Kind of. He wrote the book, lyrics, music, and orchestrations for the Tony Award-winning musical based on the story of a choirmaster in love with one of his pupils, but in Holmes' performances, the audiences choose the ending.

This summer, Carrie Jacobson drove cross-country painting plein-air landscapes and talking to real Americans. That body of work will now become her first public exhibition and half the latest exhibit at the Wallkill River School.

"A Confession of Color" is the debut exhibit for both Jacobson and George Hayes and will be on display from Nov. 1-30 at 232 Ward St., Montgomery.

Hayes grew up in rural Pennsylvania and has studied with the Wallkill River School. Both of those things helped him develop a colorful, bold style that is all his own.

An opening reception will be held from 5-8 p.m. Nov. 8. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Call 457-ARTS.

Germain Lussier

Only a person with such deep roots in the Hudson Valley could paint such vivid flowers.

Orange County resident Melissa Ochs went to school at St. Thomas Aquinas College and SUNY New Paltz and now teaches at Goshen Middle School. She works primarily in watercolor and, while this exhibit is mostly floral, she's currently working on work based on Pine Island.

Melissa's work is on display from Nov. 2-30 at the Di Bello Gallery, 3 Wallkill Ave., Montgomery. An opening reception will be held from 3-6 p.m. Nov. 2, with regular hours noon-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 457-2773.

Germain Lussier

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